He wore an ‘Action for Alex’ t-shirt on his way to the ring at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, on Saturday evening, while the same t-shirts could be spotted throughout the crowd as Alex’s family were in attendance.

Taylor told the Courier: “The family are friends of ours – we’re very close so it means a lot to me.

"I saw [Alex] just [before the fight] and he was back from getting radiotherapy and it’s really taking its toll on the little kid so I had to dedicate my fight to him.

"It’s terrible so we’re trying to raise funds to help get treatment to prolong his life.

“That’s why I wore the t-shirt and there’s a JustGiving page as well so I’d really encourage people to go on and donate whatever they can.

“It is a crying shame – the boy is only five years old.”

The boxing star is set to swap the ring for the oche as he competes in a darts competition in his home town on December 10 to raise funds for Alex (pictured below).

Taylor will compete alongside four darts stars – Chris Mason, Jamie Harvey, Devon Peterson and Eric Bristow – as well as a host of local qualifiers.

And the 26-year-old was looking forward to taking part.

He added: “I’m looking forward to it, it should be a good laugh but I’m going to be goosed with the counting – my maths is terrible!"

Taylor, who wore the Action for Alex logo on his shorts, said he plans to auction items of his own to help the youngster.

“I’m going to auction some fight shorts and things like that to try and raise funds for him," he said.

A post on the Action for Alex Facebook page hailed Taylor as a “hero” and “a credit to the community” for raising awareness of the youngster’s situation.

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